


Intimacy and Ice Cream

by foxholeshoyou



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew is more affectionate, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Neil Josten Has Nightmares, Neil has PTSD, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, andrew helps, andrew loves neil so much, fluff and love, ice cream also helps, poor baby, slightly OOC, they are in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29317332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxholeshoyou/pseuds/foxholeshoyou
Summary: Long minutes later Neil and Andrew were both slowly making their way through their ice cream in companionable silence. The ice cream shop was empty and quiet, the distant sounds of a few workers were their only company. It was nice, peaceful. Neil had kept his eyes on Andrew since the moment they left home, only taking his eyes off him to briefly order his food. Andrew didn’t tease or comment. Not today. He knew Neil needed the reassurance. He knew enough that he also kept their hands intertwined across the table as they ate.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 5
Kudos: 116





	Intimacy and Ice Cream

Andrew awoke in the darkness to the sounds of Neil’s distress. Neil was moaning in pain and twisting in the bed sheets, coated in sweat. He was begging someone to stop. There were tears streaming down Neil’s scarred cheeks, his body was thrashing and shaking in fear. Andrew’s heart squeezed at the pain he saw written through every inch of Neil’s body.

“Neil.”

Neil didn’t react.

“Neil,” Andrew said louder, more firmly.

All at once Neil jerked up from sleep. Blinking and blinking, trying to figure out where he was. His eyes finally settled on Andrew.

“Drew,” Neil murmured, his voice husky.

“Yes.”

Neil squeezed his eyes shut, opened them again. He took four deep breaths and finally stopped shaking. Keeping his gaze on Andrew tethered him to this world. Made him forget the terror of his dreams. The echo of his dream, of seeing Andrew stripped bear, burned and sliced and wounded, dead; was still fresh in his mind. The tears kept streaming down his cheeks. He couldn’t shake the feeling. Andrew hurt, Andrew gone, was something he couldn’t handle. He felt his stomach bottom out at the echo of a memory, felt the nausea rise until he was stumbling out of the bedroom, barely making it to the toilet before he lost his dinner. His whole body was burning and shaking, his heart and his mind warring over the echo of Andrew’s pain, his death, and the reality the Andrew was okay, he was right here.

Andrew had made his way into the bathroom and was sitting on the floor by Neil, watching him closely.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked, hovering his hand over Neil’s back.

“Yes,” Neil choked out in between heaving.

Andrew scooted his body closer to Neil, slowly stroking his hand soothingly across Neil’s back. Neil finally stopped heaving and rested his head against the toilet bowl.

“Drew,” he murmured again.

“What do you need?”

“I need you Drew. I need to… feel you. If-if thats…”

Andrew just lifted Neil and rested him in his lap, wrapping his arms around Neil’s waist.

“You can touch me.”

Neil sighed and rested his head against Andrew’s chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Neil let his hands wander. Mapping out Andrew’s body slowly, reminding himself that Andrew was okay, he was alive. Neil ran his hands through Andrew’s chest, his stomach, down across his back. He massaged Andrew’s scalp and then traced every inch of Andrew’s face with a fingertip, taking him in. He wrapped the image of Andrew around his heart and finally his heart caught up with his mimd. Andrew was here. Andrew was not ever going anywhere.

“You were dead.”

Andrew tensed slightly at the words. This was not what he was expecting. He tightened his hands on Neil and rested his chin on Neil’s head.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Neil let out a shaky breath, “They hurt you, the same way they hurt me, but then they-they c-cut deeper and-and you died. I watched your body stop moving. I watched the light leave your eyes.”

Andrew leaned back enough to lift Neil’s head, cupping his cheeks in his hands. Neil had tears streaming down his face again. He looked so vulnerable, so broken.

Andrew gripped Neil’s hair tightly in a hand.

“It was a dream. I’m right here Abram. No one hurt me. No one is going to hurt me. I’m not ever leaving you Neil. I’ll never leave you. Look at me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Neil’s face crumpled and he let out a sob. He buried his head in Andrew’s neck, muffling his broken sobs.

“Drew. I can’t- I can’t lose you. I don’t ever want to live without you. I-I can’t.”

Andrew held tightly to Neil and stroked his hands through Neil’s hair.

“I know baby. I know. You’ll never have to live without me. You’ll never lose me. I’m right here.”

Andrew barely ever used pet names, only in these rare, intimate moments that would only ever be between him and Neil. Neil loved the pet names, he melted whenever he heard them. Andrew knew he needed that comfort right now so he let the words slip through his tongue.

“Look at me baby.”

Neil’s big blue eyes blinked up at Andrew and there was a little more life in them than there was before. Andrew put a fingertip under Neil’s chin, lifting his face to his. Andrew kissed Neil once lightly and stroked Neil’s cheeks.

“Drew?” Neil asked softly, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Andrew took Neil’s hand and pressed it against his chest, right against his heart.

“I’m here. Feel my heart. I’m alive. I’m not leaving you baby. Not ever.”

Neil’s eyes fluttered shut as he focused on Andrew’s steady heartbeat. The word ‘baby’ from Andrew’s mouth echoing in his mind, thawing out the ice in his heart and replacing it with honey warmth. The remnants of his dream floated from his mind like dissipating clouds until all that was left was Andrew, his Andrew, unhurt and alive, holding him in his arms. Andrew seemed to notice Neil’s change in mental state because he slowly loosened his grip on Neil and untangled their limbs. As Andrew made his way back to the bedroom Neil’s heart stuttered again. He wasn’t ready to go to sleep again. Didn’t think he could stomach it. Andrew noticed Neil frozen in the doorway as he was about to get into bed.

“Neil?”

“I don’t want to sleep yet.”

Andrew just nodded and wordlessly padded out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He had planned to get ice cream for him and Neil until he had remembered they ran out yesterday. He sighed. Neil walked up behind Andrew and noticed his predicament.

“There’s that 24-hr ice cream place we could go to.”

Andrew was surprised Neil wanted to leave the apartment so soon but Andrew just wanted Neil to feel okay again so he grabbed his jacket and keys and made his way to the Maserati.

Long minutes later Neil and Andrew were both slowly making their way through their ice cream in companionable silence. The ice cream shop was empty and quiet, the distant sounds of a few workers were their only company. It was nice, peaceful. Neil had kept his eyes on Andrew since the moment they left home, only taking his eyes off him to briefly order his food. Andrew didn’t tease or comment. Not today. He knew Neil needed the reassurance. He knew enough that he also kept their hands intertwined across the table as they ate.

“Thank you,” Neil said, barely audible.

Andrew squeezed Neil’s hand tightly in answer.

When Neil and Andrew finally made their way back into bed it was almost 4am. Andrew had already texted their coach and said they weren’t coming to practice in the morning. Neil only frowned slightly when Andrew had told Neil and that tiny reaction told Andrew that he made the right call. Andrew planned to spend all day tomorrow reminding Neil that he would never leave. Comforting him until he knew Neil was steady on his feet again.

Neil never faltered in his consideration of Andrew. Even now, when Andrew knew that Neil didn’t want anything more than be as close to Andrew as possible, he still kept a few inches between them and faced the opposite way to sleep. Andrew warred between annoyance and overwhelming fondness.

“Neil.”

Neil flipped over to look at Andrew, “Hm?”

“You can still touch me.”

It seemed that Neil let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His entire body loosened and relaxed.

“Okay.”

But he still didn’t move, he hesitated.

“Drew?”

“Yes?”

“Will…can you lie on top of me? I want-want…” Neil tried helplessly.

Andrew nodded. He understood. Andrew just lifted himself and rested his weight against Neil’s body. Their legs tangled together and he rested his head in the crook of Neil’s neck. He knew it would be hot. They would both likely be drenched in sweat by morning. It didn’t matter. Neil was what mattered.

“You can rest your hands on my waist.”

Neil sighed and settled his hands. With every inch of Andrew pressed against him he finally felt steady again. Andrew was here. Andrew was here. Andrew was here. Neil fought the urge to sleep, wanted to revel in the feel of Andrew against him, he was drenched in Andrew’s scent, his presence. It was addiction and peace all at once. Despite his best efforts, the safety of Andrew’s arms was too much and short minutes later Neil had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

In the morning both boys were sticky with sweat, sore from their odd sleeping position. But when Andrew separated from Neil and met his sleepy eyes, there were no more shadows there, only peace and happiness. And that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> no one will ever be able to stop me from writing overly affectionate Andrew I apologize


End file.
